Don't Run
by EpsilonMk46
Summary: When Lori finds out that Lincoln's thinking of running away from home, she decides to set him straight. How? By telling him about the time that she ran away, when she was around his age. Idea by MrTyeDye.
1. Chapter 1

Lori Loud stretched out her arms as she walked through the door of the Loud House. She and her sisters had just returned from a rejuvenating trip to the spa, and they were eager to simply veg out for the rest of the night doing their own things. But there was one individual who chose not to partake in their excursion. That person was their only brother, Lincoln. He simply brushed off going to the spa as something that wasn't suited for a quote un quote "muscular manly man" like him, and so proceeded to hold himself in his room to read comics in his underwear.

Perfectly satisfied with his answer, and coupled with the fact that they originally believed he wouldn't have wanted to go anyway, they went to go on their trip and, to put it mildly, had the time of their lives. All over the urban oasis, there were mud baths perfectly suited for Lana, Lynn, and Luna, mani-pedis that Leni and Lola desperately needed, and simple Jacuzzis suited for…everyone else. Needless to say, the girls were immensely satisfied with their trip. However, amongst their party, there was one sister who wasn't completely focused on letting loose from their makeshift luxury paradise.

While Lori was laying on a board with a muscular man massaging her tenderly and blissfully, a certain big sister instinct kept nipping at the back of her head about how Lincoln didn't want to come with them. Had she not had her sweet spots continuously nourished by strong and gentle hands for 45 minutes straight, those thought would've most likely driven her insane. But now that she was back home, devoid of such relief, the sense within her had returned, and it wasn't going anywhere. She knew just how to take care of her current dilemma, however.

In the midst of her fellow siblings' boisterous talking, the oldest found herself a small opportunity to slip away from the group. She knew her sisters like the back of her hand, as well as all of their blind spots, Achilles's heals, and just about everything one would need to survive even half an hour around them. With her stealth maintained, Lori crept her way up the stairs and turned towards her brother's sanctuary. And with a tip toe to the door, she gave it a healthy three knocks.

"Oh, Lincoln," she said, with a sing-song tone added for charm. "We're back from the spa! How's our favorite brother doing?"

As a response, she heard a bit of rummaging coming from the other side that immediately occurred the moment she asked her query. Confused, she gave another three knocks. "Linc? What's happening in there?"

This time, the door swung wide open, revealing its only occupant with a big smile on his face and his arms stretched out wide.

"Lori!" Lincoln exuberantly said. "How are you doing today? How's Bobby doing for ya? What's new with your gal pals?"

Lori found herself reeling back at her brother's barrage of questions. "U-Uh…they're all doing fine. Why do you-"

"Great! That was a nice talk! Well, I better get going to bed. BYE!" the boy almost sputtered before reaching to the door in a quick attempt to close it shut. But just as his hand reached the wood, he found that Lori's hand had placed right on top of his.

"Not so fast there, Linky boy," the phone addict spoke with a smug tone. "You aren't getting out of talking to me that easily."

Lori knew her brother like an open book. She could tell when he'd get extremely talkative and social whenever he wanted to get on someone's good side. But she had a mission to make sure her brother was doing fine in their absence, and she wasn't going to let a maneuver like that get in her way.

"W-Well, what is there to talk about?" Lincoln stammered out, beginning to form sweat on the side of his head.

"Hey, can't a girl be interested in the life of her brother for once?" Lori said. She then stepped forward into Lincoln's domain, causing the boy to sweat even more profusely.

As Lori entered the room, the first thing that caught her attention was an overnight bag sprawled onto the floor with a plethora of Lincoln's belongings pouring out of it.

"Wh-what in the…? Lincoln!" Lori sternly spoke in a commanding tone. "Were you literally going to just leave your room in a mess the whole night? We raised you better than that!"

In response, Lincoln scrambled to rearrange the floor to be spic and spiffy. To that end, he grabbed his bag, pushed all of the items back within it, closed the zippers—with some of them having been forced closed—and looked back towards his elder sister. "There you go! All cleaned up!"

On the inside, Lori cockily smiled. The first step of her trap had been achieved. Now to go in for the kill.

"Well, thanks for the quick work. But I do have to ask you something." And with that line, Lori began to lean over Lincoln, making him shake a little in his legs. "What exactly are you doing with an overnight bag anyways?"

The white haired boy darted his eyes around the room. "W-Well…it…uuhhhh," he whispered, even more beads of sweat dripping from his forehead. But then, his eyes lit up as he said: "Oh! That's right! I'm going to an overnight field trip!"

"A field trip? …Really?" Lori inquired with a slow raise of her eyebrow.

"Yeah!" Lincoln exclaimed. "We're going to this mountaintop to view the stars. It's gonna be a blast!"

A moment of silence passed, and Lincoln thought himself to be in the clear. Until Lori spoke up to him, hardly heading his words. "Uh huh. So tell me, Lincoln, why exactly did _none_ of us hear anything about this supposed field trip?"

Lincoln felt his stomach churn with fear once more. "It…it was short notice. Yeah, Mrs. Johnson called it in just recently and I scrambled to-"

"Then how come Mom and Dad literally never got a call asking for their permission for this "last minute" trip?" Lori pressed, subconsciously chuckling to herself.

"Nnggghh," the middle child groaned. "M-Maybe she never got around to asking them…"

"Oh? And why do you believe that?" the 17-year-old pursued.

"It's...That's…I…I…" Lincoln stammered. He then began to sport an uncharacteristically spiteful scowl before spewing out: "Oh, what do you care?! Shouldn't I be able to run a-" That's when he suddenly clamped his mouth shut, fearful of the consequences of what he just revealed.

Lori felt a chill go down her spine at his sudden outburst. "Wait, what? What did you just say?" she found herself blurting out as a kneejerk reaction.

From his sister's inquiries, Lincoln found his mind reeling backwards. "N-Nothing! Forget I said that, please."

"Oh, no you don't," she fired back. "What. Did. You. Say?"

Lincoln found himself darting his eyes all across the hallway, as if he was on his last legs and looking for straws to grasp. At the sight of this, Lori knew that this situation was far more serious than she'd originally thought. ' _Hmmm…I don't think old-sister mode is gonna cut it,'_ she thought to herself. ' _Maybe I should try a gentler approach.'_ And with that in mind, she bent a knee and brought herself towards eye level with him.

"Lincoln," she whispered. "You don't have to be ashamed of anything. No matter what you did, I will _always_ , _ALWAYS_ love you. So can you tell me why you're so upset?"

Lincoln looked into his sister's eyes, sensing a sense of warmth and comfort radiating from them. But even so, he still looked away. "I…I can't tell you."

"Why not?" Lori replied with a deep frown.

"You'd…you'd…" he answered, or at least tried to. In his soul, he was at war with his own emotions, tearing himself apart whether or not to come clean. In the end, he simply said: "You'd hate me forever."

But Lori didn't listen to him. "Did you not hear me? I said I'd love you no matter what you did." She then cupped his cheeks and pulled his attention towards her. "Do you not believe me?"

A tense silence then grew between the two, neither one of them daring to make the next move. Lori's concern had reached its peak; her heart was begging her mind to act and do something, _anything._

…That was when an idea popped in the back of her head. There was something that could be done in a situation like this, but it'd be pretty underhanded, at least from her perspective.

But this wasn't about being morally good.

"Lincoln. If you're not going to come clean about your troubles…then you leave me with no choice."

It was about making sure her siblings were at their happiest.

"What-what are you…" Lincoln started before gasping in shock. "N-No…y-you don't mean…"

Lori only nodded as she stood up once more. "I do." And with that, she waved her hand out in front of her and decreed: "Stand aside, Lincoln Loud. It's time for a senior sibling room inspection!"

Lincoln felt his eyes bulge out from his sockets, as he rapidly shook his hands in front of his quavering body. "W-WAIT!" he found himself screaming, causing the remaining sisters downstairs to momentarily look up towards the staircase.

"I'm sorry, Lincoln, but you know the rules. When you act suspicious towards your family, that means you've got something to hide. And if you've got something to hide, your older sisters get to take action," Lori proclaimed as she made her way into the converted linen closet.

"Stop! I beg of you! There's nothing-"

That was all Lincoln could muster the will to speak before Lori spotted his pillows. On the front, they were completely dampened, with its sides looking hardly crushed.

"Lincoln…" Lori said, looking back towards her brother. "Were you…crying?"

Lincoln felt his heart begin to beat out of his chest, as his mind desperately tried to figure out an answer. But he hadn't the time for that either, for Lori had also begun to lay her eyes on the second place of interest: the overflowing piles upon piles of white paper in the trash.

"And what's with all of this paper?" Lori questioned, beginning to reach towards one of the sheets. But not before he heard a pair of legs hit the floor with a thud, as she turned around to Lincoln on his knees and his hands clasped at his torso.

"No! You-you can't! There's nothing in that pile! I swear!"

But she paid him no heed, as she began to unfold one of the pieces to examine them. What she found was, to put it mildly, revealing.

"Dear Loud Sisters," she read aloud. "I realize that this may have been a stupid choice on my part, and I want you to know that I'm sorry I'm being so selfish with this, but-" That was all she could discern as she began to see the rest of the writing having been scribbled over with an excessive amount of lead. But from the few words that she could pick out, she felt her heart stop when she began reading them.

"'Shadow.' 'Nothing for myself.'

…'R…Run away'….?!"

Lori's eyes widened as she jolted her head back towards Lincoln. She could see that his hands had fallen to the floor, and his expression looked like he was utterly…defeated.

"Oh, man… You weren't supposed to…to… Ngggghhh," Lincoln muttered as his limbs stopped shaking.

So much had happened in that room at that moment. The solemn brother was unable to comprehend his surroundings as his grieving soul consumed him from the inside out. He simply laid on the ground, his eyes staring at it heavily. But then he looked at a pair of shoes appearing in his sights, as he looked up to see his eldest sister looking straight down towards him.

"Lincoln. Talk. **Now.** "


	2. Chapter 2

Lori had been through many different trials and tribulations when it came to her siblings. Whether it be scolding them for failing a test, filling in for her parents whenever they went out, or just simply to have to keep them from disagreeing on anything, period; chances are, she had something in her belt. However, there are certain things in which she wouldn't even want to experience. Some terrifying events that would make her heart ache at the thought of them happening to her own flesh and blood.

In that effect, the worst of such hypothetical scenarios occurred right before her very eyes. Here she was, standing over a grieving boy who'd recently had his plan to run away from home thwarted. A myriad of raging questions was filling the eldest sister's head to its bursting point, but all she could do was stand in shock and awe as his lone brother lay ever so still on the carpet.

"Lori…I…" Lincoln muttered. "This could've been so simple. I could've started a new life and helped you all out." He then began to shed a few tears before looking towards the blonde. "So why? Why did you have to figure it out so quickly?"

Lori, almost by reflex, put a hand on her chest. "Excuse me? Did you honestly think you were going to get away with something like…this?" In a fit of emotion, she gripped the paper from the trash and flashed it right in front of Lincoln's eyes. "You are literally going to look at me and tell me what in the ever living _hell_ this is!"

The white haired child gasped before saying: "W-Well…that is…it's just that-"

Hearing the young boy's gaped speech made Lori all the more anxious. All too quickly, Lori's body flew into auto pilot as her hands grasped onto Lincoln's shoulders. That was when the phone addict began to sprout a manic look in her eyes, and she let out a boisterous scream.

"SPIT IT OUT!"

At the sound of his sister's glaring demand, Lincoln clasped his eyes shut as he shivered in his shoes. The commotion had also garnered the attention of the other sisters, who had sprawled up the stairs to see what had happened.

"Whoa, boss man! What are you thrashin' up here?" Luna inquired, eyeing Lori with a suspicious eye.

Seeing all of the faces around her, Lori began to calm herself down while eyeing the trembling 11-year-old right in front of her. She then began to feel a touch of guilt brush upon her conscience, as she rose up from the ground and started to think through what to do next.

The first thing that came to her attention was all of her siblings. That was when a revelation suddenly slammed her in the back of the neck. 'If they figure out about Lincoln's plan…we'll be facing full blown, over-protective sister anarchy!' She looked over her shoulder to Lincoln once more and realized what had to be done before anything else.

"Attention, Loud sisters!" Lori commanded while standing tall on the ground. "All of you are to report to bed immediately. No questions asked. Got it?"

As predicted, the sisters bombarded the hallway with a flurry of jeers and disdain, all directed at their seemingly authoritarian older sister. However, Lori stood tall as she further decreed: "And for all of you who aren't in bed in the next thirty seconds, you all are being woken up _ten minutes_ before school starts tomorrow."

All too quickly, most of the remaining sisters went bug eyed as they each made a mad dash towards their rooms. All except for a certain little princess, who walked up straight towards Lori with a haughty look on her face and a wrist held up.

"Lori, do you know what time it is?" she inquired, tapping her wrist repeatedly. "It is a measly 7 o clock. In other words, a whole _hour_ before any our bed times. So why, oh why, are you making me go to bed WHEN MY CARTOONS ARE ON RIGHT NOW?!"

Even in the face of Lola's rage, the eldest sister did not bat an eye. Instead, she only looked down towards the steaming six-year-old and said: "Well, it really isn't any of your business. But if you've gotta know…" Lori gave a glance towards the white haired boy. "Lincoln and I are going to have a nice long chat about a certain…issue of his."

Hearing that, Lola's scowling frown turned into a surprised look, as she began to sprout a devilish grin. "Oooooooh. A nice long 'chat', you say?" she said, before putting her hand up to her ear. "Come on! Spill. What did Linky do?"

"Ah ah ah. You overstepped," Lori replied with a wag of her finger. "Time to go to bed."

Lola giggled and said back: "Ookaaayy, Lori. I'll go to bed." She then made her way to her room and closed the door. But Lori went over and gave it a few knocks.

"I mean it, Lola. Actually go to bed," she scolded.

"Uuuggghhhhh. Fine…" a voice mumbled from the other side, as a pair of small feet stomped across the floor and jumped onto the bed. Once Lori gave one last glance across the hallway to check for any stragglers, she walked towards the converted linen closet, stepped inside and closed the door behind her, and gave Lincoln a focused gaze.

"Lori… Are…are you mad?" Lincoln murmured.

"Sit," Lori replied almost instantly, in which Lincoln did exactly that on his bed. She then took a seat right next to him and the two sat in silence for the longest while. Lincoln had no idea what Lori had in store for him, but he still found himself subconsciously twiddling him thumbs in anticipation for whatever lecture his elder sister had in store for him.

"…..I'm sorry," Lori said, spooking the middle child. "Yelling at you like that was a bit much."

"Uummm…it's alright, Lori. Really," Lincoln said, almost relieved at Lori calm tone. "Is…is that all you wanted to-"

"Absolutely not," Lori interrupted. "Am I sorry for snapping at you? Yes. Am I sorry for trying to help out my little brother? _Heck no._ "

Lincoln's body shivered from her last two words, as he looked down towards the floor in shame.

"Lincoln, I literally just found out that you were planning to run away from home. Our home. If you think that I'm going to just turn a blind eye towards some like _this_ ," Lori asserted, waving the running away message in front of Lincoln, "then you have got another thing coming."

Lincoln closed him eyes as he braced himself, only to open them back up as he heard Lori's calm breathing.

"So here's what we're going to do. You are going to tell me how this entire scheme of yours came to be. Where, when, and most importantly, why." Lori then sat back and leaned on the wall with her arms crossed. "And I'm going to sit here, listen to you, and help you in any way I can to get you through whatever you're feeling. Because even if you don't think I care, I do. Does that sound good?"

From his sister's spiel, Lincoln felt a sensation appear in the pit of his stomach, making him stop in his thoughts. He felt his sister's presence give him a sense of comfort and security, as if he could talk about positively anything, without consequence. With that, he turned towards her and let out: "All right, I'll tell you." He took a deep breath in, and let loose.

"It's just that…I've been getting a lot of doubts about my future…" he said.

"Your future?" Lori asked, raising her eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

Lincoln slowly turned back to Lori. "Have you…have you ever felt like-" he began before shaking his head. "No, that'd be really stupid."

Cupping his cheeks, Lori said: "What did I just say? I'd listen to anything you had to say. Remember?"

"Oh, yeah… But this was just…" Lincoln started up again before letting out a healthy sigh. "Have you ever felt like the people around you would be better off if you weren't there?"

Lori froze in her tracks, as her face began to grow into a static pause. A sweat drop began to form from her cheek, as Lincoln looked upon it in concern.

"Uuhhh…Lori? Are you-"

"No," Lori finally said. "N-No I haven't." She took a minute to prop herself up before continuing with: "Why do you ask?"

To her relief, Lincoln paid her hesitation no heed as he continued his tale. "I've just been thinking about how all you guys are so successful in life," he said. "And I've been thinking that maybe I'm just sort of…there." Slumping his shoulders, he began to speak in a more distasteful voice. "I mean, everytime I go out, somebody always comes up to me, saying something along the lines of, 'Hey! You're Luna's little bro, aren't ya? Can you get her to give me backstage passes to her next gig?' Then the next person will go, 'Well, well, well, if it isn't the brother of Lola. You can go and tell that meanie pants that she won't be taking my crown _this_ year!' And then there will be an occasional 'OMG! CAN YOU GO AND GET LENI'S PHONE NUMBER FOR ME PLEEEEAAAAASSSEEEE…..whoever you are?'"

The last line made Lori cringe quite a bit, to which Lincoln chuckled and added: "Ehehe…his words, not mine. But what I'm trying to get at is that…everyone sort of just sees me as the brother in a house full of 10 amazing sisters, and yet no one sees me..." With a look to the side, he concluded with: "…as me."

Lori almost thought that was the end, as she began to open her mouth with the intent of consoling Lincoln. But before that, he put a finger to her lips before saying: "And before you say it; yes, I do know that I have talents. And yes, I know that I probably will get ahead in life at some point; probably to the same point as you. But…that's where another thing came to mind.

There were days when I would work endlessly to try to make a name for myself and finally make myself stick out from you guys. All of my classmates I talked to pretty much said the same thing. But then…"

A few tears began to sprout from the white haired boy's eyes.

"…then I kept thinking about you guys again," he whimpered, "and I began thinking about what would happen if I did end up becoming popular. What if…" Lincoln's lips trembled as he looked up towards Lori. "What if you become the next me?"

Lori was taken aback as she spoke: "What are you-"

"What if you become "the ten sisters that live in the same house with a famous comic book writer"? I…I could never do that to you guys…" Finally feeling warm drops of salty tears slide down his face, he felt his heart pour out in front of him with his words. "I just…love you guys too much…to let you end up like me. But then I t-thought back to how I'm living right now…and…and…" Stopping for a lengthy period, he regained his composure as he went on. "I know you all love me. Believe me, I know that all too well.

…But I can't keep going on like this. I also can't bring you guys down just to bring myself up." He then looked out of his small window and let out a small smile. "That's when I decided the perfect solution where everyone wins. I'm going to move off somewhere outside of Royal Woods, where I can make a name for myself, and leave you guys with your reputations intact!"

…

…

…

"Ppfffttt. Hehehehehee ahahahahahaha."

Lincoln felt his smile fade away as he looked over to see Lori laughing to herself of all things. "H-Hey! What's so funny?!"

"Ahahaha…. I-I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't be laughing…" she giggled. "It's just that—you are so funny!"

"Y-You…" Lincoln stuttered. "I open my heart about what bothering me, and you think something like that is humorous?"

From Lincoln terse voice, Lori finally calmed down. "Sorry, Lincoln. You're right," she acquiesced. "But that wasn't what I was laughing about. I was laughing about how you think that running away will work out for all of us. That's…that's just too rich."

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Lincoln asked, confused beyond belief.

"Look, Lincoln, I'm going to save you all of those bus tickets worth of your life savings by letting you in on something real important. Whatever you think is waiting for you to be found out there, you are literally _not_ going to find it."

The middle child looked at the phone addict dead in the eye before letting out: "Oh, yeah? And what do you think _will_ happen then?"

"I mean that you are going to end up completely lost and alone out in the cold, cruel world. All while all of us are going to sit here crying our hearts out, wondering where on Earth you ran off to."

"W-Well…yeah, I guess," Lincoln gulped. "But wait! Maybe…maybe I can explain my reasoning for wanting to go. Maybe they'll understand and let me run off… What do you think?"

Shaking her head, Lori simply smiled. "Oh, Lincoln," she said, clutching Lincoln's arms. "They would tackle you to the floor and smother you with kisses the nanosecond they found out what you were planning."

"Yeah…" Lincoln sighed. But before he could continue on, Lori spoke once more.

"But I'm serious, Lincoln. If you go out there, you are literally going to regret it," Lori explained, sporting a furrowed pair of brows and a serious tone of voice.

"Wait a second…" Lincoln whispered. "How…how would you what the outside world is gonna be like? I mean, I know we go to school every single weekday, but outside of that, none of us has ever gone out on our own. If you really knew what you were talking about, wouldn't that imply that…" He then gasped as a hard lump formed in his throat. "L-Lori…d-d-did you?"

Not saying a single word, Lori only nodded twice with her eyes closed and the sides of her lips slowly forming into a frown.

"B-B-But…why?" Lincoln asked.

Again, Lori did not speak. Instead, she patted the space between her legs, signaling Lincoln to come over to her. Not hesitating, Lincoln did exactly that, as he faced Lori with an inquisitive gaze.

"Thank you for letting me in on your troubles, Linc," Lori finally let out. "I think it's only right that I literally tell you a story of my own. And I'm actually going to make you a deal here."

"A...deal?"

Before speaking further, Lori looked deep into Lincoln's eyes, not looking away even once as she spoke: "If you still feel like running away after this, then I will make absolutely no attempts to stop you. You can run away all you want I will not stop you. And I'll also prevent the others from stopping you, too. Does that sound fair?"

Feeling a cold shiver down his spine, Lincoln, failing to bring himself to speak, only nodded.

"All right…" Lori said. "Well, pay attention. This…is something I felt like keeping stowed away…"

And with that, the hands of time ticked backwards to nine years past, to a time where a blonde little girl was seen roaming the lonely streets.


	3. Chapter 3

A crisp breeze of winter's wind blew through the city of Detroit, freezing all the hapless souls who wandered her bustling streets. Car horns blared as far as the ear could perceive. The buildings soared high above the clouds, cutting the clouds and the heavens above in their majesty. Blindingly bright neon lights shined across the rooftops, mesmerizing its viewers upon sight. This was the place that Lori had chosen to call her new home.

She had heard magnificent stories of this metropolis, where aspiring men and women come to raise their dreams high off the ground and ascend into realms of fame and glory. But in a more practical outlook, it could simply serve as a place where one can transform themselves; run away from whom they were before and start a new life. Believing this was the best path for her, the 8-year-old walked along the sidewalk, gazing in awe at the sights that lied in her view.

In her little mind, making it big could wait until later. After all, she needed to get used to her new home. Walking around with a polka dotted knapsack hanging from her shoulder, Lori thought of all the things that were at her fingertips just ripe for the picking. Perhaps she could attend a baseball game. Or maybe she could take a ferry ride across the lake. What about simply lying back in a park and gazing at the stars? She looked at her possibilities with glee and anticipation, until...

-Grumble-

The blonde's stomach gave off a miniature roar, and she felt a sudden need for nourishment ravage almost every single one of her priorities. Of course, this came as no surprise to her, as a 2-hour bus ride with only a few chocolate bars as snacks would not really suffice as a full meal.

"Okay then…" Lori said as she pulled out a gigantic map from her bag. "Let's see where I can...can…" She stopped in her tracks as she began to notice something peculiar about her guidance. Mainly, it was borderline illegible with how many lines intersected with each other, red lines being crossed with blue lines, symbols being almost completely obscured by roads. Although, she could not entirely blame her map for its complexity; for when she looked up, Lori noticed a myriad of intersections with hardly any lick of difference apart from the street names that labeled them. But those came of no help to Lori, as she hadn't seen them before in her life.

But even so, her stomach kept growling and growling away, eating her alive from the inside. As she looked around for even the faintest clue as to where she could gain a feast that would last the night, her little nose began to smell a peculiar scent coming from the horizon. It was...it was….

...the scent of homemade pizza, cooked to perfection in a brick oven. Paired with that was a batch of tender pepperoni, the meat steaming as its pork flavors invaded Lori nostrils and picked away at her sanity. The 8-year-old felt her legs begin to walk by themselves, as she felt herself being hoisted along the concrete step by step towards the source of the delectable smell; even going so far as to-

-HONK- -HONK-

In the midst of her hunger induced trance, Lori found herself smack dab in the middle of the street, a red hand beaming right above her, and a driver shaking his fist out of his window, yelling out: "Hey! Watch where you're going, missy!"

"O-Oh! S-Sorry, mister," she stammered, gaining her bearings and making a mad dash off the road. Once she reached safety, she let out a sigh as the aroma from before reached her once more, enticing her movement to be rendered involuntary, as if nothing had ever happened.

In the midst of her hunger induced trance, Lori felt her senses leave her body, as she found the sidewalk she was walking on suddenly become littered with gumdrops. Curious as to her findings, she looked up to see the sky had turned pink and the buildings that surrounded her had turned into various stacks of pancakes, waffles, and french toast wedges. For most men, such a phenomenon would probably be perceived as a sign of lunacy.

Lori, however, could do no more but drool at the sight, as she felt her stomach grumble even more as the scenery began to grow more and more vibrant. Feeling herself prance around in the air whimsically, she eventually surrendered to her fantasies as she pranced on forward through the confectionary filled town.

Eventually, Lori found herself face to face with a graham cracker made structure right before her very eyes. Her mouth began to drool as her fingers began to uncurl from her sides and place themselves against the soft, warm feel of the savory snack, each digit shuddering upon contact. She then felt that all she required was but a tasty nibble, a subtle taste for her hunger to be sated. With her primal urges in high gear, Lori pressed her nose against the brown, honey baked cracker, only to find that it felt an awful lot like...

...solid brick.

At that moment, Lori felt her eyes blink, as she looked around to see the streets had returned to their shade of gray, the buildings were reverted back to their tall, concrete stature, and the sky had once again become midnight moment her senses returned and her bearings were straightened, she looked to see herself with an all too solid brick wall. Lori instinctively smacked herself on her forehead, and looked around to see where she wound up.

"Uuggghh," she groaned. "There's gotta be some place to eat…"

Fortunately for her, the moment she looked up, the eight-year-old took notice of a gleaming sign that shined right above her head. And as fate would have it, what read from the sign was:

 **Sal's Pizzeria**

Lori almost felt like questioning how she randomly ended up at the very thing she was looking for. However, those queries were silenced entirely when her stomach growled a final time, more powerfully that all the other times combined. And so, she grabbed the handle on the door, and swung it open, feeling a hot breeze hit her dead on.

The store itself was like a narrow hallway, adorned with high tables and long standing aluminum chairs, red brick decorating the walls, and a checkerboard patterned floor. At the end of the hall, there was a bar-like counter with three more tall chairs placed right next to it. And on the other side of the counter, a 5 foot 5 man stood, wearing a white apron and a chef hat not unlike the ones seen in novelty shops. Thinking nothing of her surroundings, Lori promptly walked straight over to the nearest table and sat down. It was at that moment when the man perked up, took notice of his latest customer, and went over to her.

"Ah, why, hello there!" he affably said. "What can I do for you?"

"Yeah...I'll have a personal pizza with… Hmmmmm…" she replied before turning towards the table's center. "What do you guys want-" She stopped in the middle of her sentence as she realized something missing from her surroundings, before letting out an "Oh…"

"Hmm? Something the matter, little one?" the waiter inquired, taking notice of Lori's look of confusion. Hearing him ask that made Lori look back at him with a startle.

"N-Nothing. Nevermind. I'll just have it with pepperoni, thanks," she said, beginning to look down at the table.

"Your wish is my command," he said back with a tip of his hat. He then went over to the kitchen and started to work his magic. Once he arrived, he took out a small, wooden paddle and laid it out on the counter. With a crack of his fingers, he took out a healthy dose of pizza dough and pounded it over and over, before laying it flat on the paddle. Next, he took out a ladle and scooped out a big batch of tomato sauce, with which he spread all over the dough. After that, he pulled out a block of strong scented, bright yellow, mozzarella cheese, took out a cheese grater, and went straight to work with making numerous strands of the dairy product, all of which he made rain all over the sauce covered uncooked bread. And last but most certainly not least, the pepperoni was brought out from a cabinet over to the chef's side, and with almost machine gun equse speed and precision, he chopped up the meat ever so thinly and with great quantity. From there, he laid each and every slice onto the bed of yellow and red.

Once they were all in place, the man took a step back to admire his handiwork, relishing in the raw yet succulent scent of all of his ingredients blended together into an artisan's subjective masterpiece. And with a swift motion and a strong lift, he hoisted the wooden paddle up, made his way over to the brick oven, and slid his half baked creation straight in. It was only then, turning back towards the counter, when he noticed little Lori leaning on the top of the maroon wood top, staring at him with drool coming from the corner of her mouth and stars glittering from her eyes.

"Ohohohoho. Well, you're lookin' pretty ravenous there, eh?" he asked, a small smirk sprouting from his mouth. In response, Lori looked up the tiniest bit, shook her head, and let out a sheepish giggle.

"I-I'm sorry, sir. I just haven't eaten all that much in the last few hours."

With a twist of his wrist, Lori's host cranked a handheld timer to its 30 minute mark, placed it on his workbench, and leaned forward on his side of the counter. "Well, while we're waiting for that," he said, "why don't we have a little chat, you and I?"

"Huh?" Lori bewilderedly asked. "Don't you have other custo-" As she prepared to finish her sentence, the little blonde took a look around to see not a soul other than the two of them. "Wait a second...we're really alone in here?"

"Ehehehe. Well, you did come here just when I was about to close up for the night," the man replied. "I mean, I hardly get any customers at this time of day anyways, and yet here you are, all by your lonesome self."

Hearing that made Lori sweat a bit from her brow, now realizing the natural suspicions that could be inferred from her state of being. Thinking on her feet, she said back to him: "Oh, no. I'm not here alone, sir. I'm actually just waiting for my Mom and Dad to come."

"Oh?" the man said. "You mean they aren't here with you?"

Sweating a bit more profusely, Lori scrambled out: "W-Well...you see, they're at...a drugstore! Yeah! We needed to get some milk for this super long road trip we're on right now and they sent me here to hold a table." Even with the rushed explanation, she let out a miniature sigh of relief on the inside.

"Well, I guess that'll do for now." her host then said, to Lori's delight. "But to be a bit more friendly, what's your name, little one; or do you just want me to call you that the whole night?"

Giggling at first, Lori answered: "My name is Lori. Lori Loud!"

"L...La-ood?" the chef said, chuckling a bit on the inside.

"No, it's Loud. LAAOOOUUD."

"Hah, I'm just joshin' ya, little Lori. My name's Sal, the one from the sign." Sal chimed, prompting Lori to sigh and give a little shake of her head. "But really though, is that what you're named after? You mean to tell me that your family of three is loud enough that you all are explicitly named after the word itself?"

A sudden burst of laughter then erupted from the eight year olds lungs. "If only!" she gasped, before taking a moment to calm down. "No, it's actually a really crazy story." And with a inward wag of her finger, Sal inched his head in closer to her's. "I'm actually in a family of, including me, _six kids_."

The man's eyes went wide for the briefest of moments. "You're joking me right now!" he exclaimed. "You really have that many guys in your little home?"

"Yep!" Lori replied, eliciting the happy little giggle.

"Well that must be quite something. What exactly happens in this large family of yours?"

"Oh, you have no idea," she said, putting her elbows and sporting a childlike grin. "Well, first things first, you can forget about ever having to go to the bathroom whenever you want. Then, there are nonstop pies flying everywhere, filled diapers littered on the floor, goofy airheads walking into walls; it's an absolutely crazy place."

"I see, I see," Sal chimed, listening intently. "And may I ask, where do you stand in your sextoplet?"

"Oh, me? I'm the oldest. Large and in charge!" Lori decreed, huffing her chest out with pride.

"Mmmmmm….So I take it that you're the one who sets down the law and keeps everyone from killin' themselves?"

Feeling a bit queasy, Lori then scrunched back down. "W-Well, I-I wouldn't say that they'd _die_ without me, but yeah, I always do my best to keep everyone in line...even if I end up failing miserably and end up finding myself going back into the chaos myself," Lori stated, blushing towards the end. "But at the end of the day, we all love each other more than anything in the world, and I…" Subconsciously growing a bit downtrodden, she concluded with, "I only want to do what would make them happy in the end…"

A deep silence fell upon the two, as the lights gave off a flicker one by one. Letting out a hefty sigh, Sal said: "Gee, you lookin' real sad there. Something the matter, little Lori?"

"N-No…" Lori lied. "I-I just...kind of...uuhhh…" Her words began to jumble in her mouth, as she felt a beefy finger touch upon her lips.

"Uh uh uh. No need, my friend," Sal whispered, "I think I've got it all figured out already." With her curiosity piqued, she looked him dead in the eye. "Your folks ain't really comin' here to meat'cha...are they?"

Lori's eyes wide as her head reeled back at breakneck speed. "W-W-WHAT?!" she involuntarily screamed, before stopping herself almost immediately and regaining her composure. "I-I mean...no, you're absolutely wrong, and that's final!"

"Is that so?" Sal asked, minisculely shaking his head. "Well you just gave yourself three strikes that helped me see through your little ruse."

Scoffing at the idea, Lori snidely said back to him: "Oh, yeah? Well, what might-"

"Strike one!" Sal interrupted with one finger lifted. "You told me that you were here with your folks on a "super long road trip", and just minutes later you're screaming to the wind about you havin' this large family. Whatever happened to the rest of them?"

Feeling her gut drop to the pits of her groin, she stammered: "U-U-Uhh...You see...I...We left them with-"

"Strike two!" he interrupted again, this time holding up two fingers. "When I first came to you, you looked over to the side, almost by instinct to ask your family what they wanted. If you were really here with them, why'd you feel the need to do that?"

"I-I-I-I-I g-g-guess I just...um-"

"And strike three!" he interrupted once more, predictably holding up three fingers. "You claimed that you came in here lookin' to get your folks and you fed, but you ordered a personal pie. More than enough for just you, but not nearly enough for three of youse."

Lori felt her forehead against the counter, as tears began to fall from her eyes, before Sal concluded with the final blow, "So just tell me the truth, will ya?"

Sniffling and weeping, she looked up. "Oh, all right!" she suddenly yelled. "Yes, it's true. I'm a gosh darn runaway! I left home without a trace! I went here hoping to start a brand new life! HAPPY NOW?!"

Through gritted teeth and clenched fists, Lori felt as if the world had conspired against her, as if all of her efforts to be left in her own solitude were for naught, and now her number was up. Though little did she know, that Sal had ceased from his relentless pressing, and now adopted a sympathetic look in an attempt to calm her nerves.

"But why?" Sal quietly said. Lori then lifted her head the tiniest bit, not even bothering to look him in the eye.

"Because every one of my siblings hates what I do for them. They think I don't notice their groans whenever I try to get them to go to bed or do their homework, but I do! I do and I…!" Lori paused, starting to feel her anger fade away, and give way only to sadness. "I only wanted to make them happy in the long run, so I left them all alone, just like they wanted…" It was then where her tears finally began to break out from their ducts, as she felt a steady stream of liquid fly down her cheeks and land on her shorts. "After all, isn't that what a big sister does for their family?"

Sal didn't utter a word, for he didn't even know what there even was to say at that point. Sniffling much more profusely, Lori finally looked all the way up, and with red eyes and a runny nose, she said: "Mister...can you please just feed me and leave me alone? Please?"

The chef didn't even move, for he was too busy lost in his own thoughts about what he could do. He figured that he'd never be able to talk her out of her dilemma, but he knew that he couldn't just stand there and do nothing.

...That was when a thought occurred to him, and he subsequently went over to his workbench, pulled open a drawer, and took out a fairly new newspaper. He then went over to the downtrodden Lori, who was too busy looking at her feet to even notice him.

"Little one...you need to realize that what you're doing is stupid. I hate to be blunt, but it's true."

"Oh, yeah…?" Lori replied, regaining the teensiest bit of her anger from before. "And are you going to lecture me about how I shouldn't be out here and how my family actually loves and all that stupid junk?"

"No….no, I'm not gonna do that."

"Then what do you-"

-SLAM-

Lori felt a jolt go up her spine, as she looked to see the newspaper Sal was holding had been turned to a certain article somewhere to the right of the main ones.

"I'm gonna show you why it's wrong," he said. "Read that little tidbit there, and it'll all make sense."

Even though she was a more than a little annoyed about her pity party being spoiled, she couldn't help but feel a bit intrigued at what he wanted to show her. And so, she took her hands and brought the article in question into her field of focus. But what she read out loud almost made her heart stop.

 _Renown Police Lieutenant's Son Missing. Whereabouts unknown._

 _Sensation! The young child of citywide known Lieutenant has run away from his own home!Two weeks ago, a young 8-year-old male by the name of Scott Lorenzi was reported to have run away from his home in the middle of the night. Reports remain hazy and undetailed, but around the evening of the day in question, neighbors reported young Scott and his family being involved in a heated argument. Search parties were sent out by the DPD almost immediately, as the boy was apparently the child of renowned Lieutenant Salvatore Lorenzi, who was almost maddened to find his son by whatever means necessary. All of his usual haunts were searched with nothing found of his location, and in the following days, there were almost no clues as to where he ended up. Eventually, at around the 10th day of the search, Lt. Lorenzi resigned from his position, presumably because he couldn't handle the pressure and shame of his failure to find him. His fellow officers were saddened to see him leave the force, and vowed to find his son to make up for their Lieutenants shortcomings. If you have any information as to any clues that could lead to Scott, don't hesitate to contact your local police department immediately._

Feeling all of the sadness and anger dissipate from her brain, she looked up in wonder as she began to notice Sal look down at her with tears of his own forming under his eyes.

"Shocking, isn't it?" he weeped. "A hard boiled cop who can't even find his own son."

Rendered entirely speechless, all Lori could do was just stare right back at him, still trying to make sense of all that she was hearing.

"...I loved the little guy, y'know?" Sal eventually said, breaking the everstill silence. "He'd come home from school every single day and we'd sit on the couch watching our favorite shows while my wife would just sit along, groaning at our giggling heads as we kept on being our happy little duo."

"I…." Lori started, with the slowest speech that her mind restricted her to. "I'm sorry for your loss…"

Hearing her words come out made her cringe at herself. She didn't know how to talk to someone who had that kind of problem and she knew it, but saying nothing almost felt cruel. Thankfully for her, Sal didn't even seem to hear her, as he knelt down to where his head was at her level, wiped out a corner of his left eye, and whispered: "You gotta understand something, Lori. This here...this is Detroit, the big city, the urban jungle. It ain't worth it trying to find refuge in these parts." And then, with a huge amount of determination in his glare, he concluded with, "You should get on home before you get hurt."

Lori didn't respond. She didn't have the willpower to….

….

….

….

-RIIIIING- -RIIIIING-

"Oh! Now what might that be?" Sal asked himself, as he turned around to see his windup timer was ringing like crazy. Raising his brow in attention, he then got up and ran over to the oven, pulled out his trusty wooden pan, and took out his savory meal straight out of it. From there, he took out a wheel cutter from his cabinets, and sliced the pizza into eight even pieces. Lastly, Sal went over to Lori, where he laid it out in front of her.

"In all this talk about sadness and runaways, I almost forgot about your pie!" he affably said, trying to brighten the mood for his guest, who just sat there ever more silently. "And since you were such a good sport, this one's on the house."

Lori's eyes laid down on her dinner, as she began to quiver her lip at what she noticed. It was just like the pizzas they had back at home, whether it be what they ordered, or what their kooky dad made in the kitchen. The bubbling hot cheese, the succulent tomato sauce, the fluffy crust, and not least the tender pepperoni. Whenever one came into the Loud siblings' sights, it was devoured in ten seconds flat. And a member of the ravenous pack was Lori herself, eating happily along with her posse of sisters and brother. With the feelings of home deep within her subconscious, she lifted her hand...and pushed the pizza away.

"N...no thank you, sir. I...I'm not hungry anymore. You can have it," she muttered.

Sal let out a sigh. "I don't blame you," he replied.

With that, Lori got up from her seat, pushed it back in, and made her way back towards the door. But not before Sal went over to her, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Can you make it back on your own? Need any help?"

After a brief moment of pause, Lori said: "No, I'm okay. Thanks, anyways."

"Hmm… Then you'd best get on out of here, little one. And I don't just mean out of my restaurant."

Bidding him goodbye, Lori then went outdoors, her sack in hand, as she looked towards the sky. The city's lights weren't as bright as they were before.


End file.
